D. Expertise for Conducting HTA
Given the variety of impacts addressed and the range of methods that may be used in an assessment, multiple types of experts are needed in HTA. Depending upon the topic and scope of assessment, these include a selection of the following:
- Physicians, nurses, other clinicians
- Managers of hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other health care institutions
- Pharmacists and pharmacologists
- Laboratory technicians, radiology technicians, and other allied health professionals
- Biomedical and clinical engineers
- Patients and community representatives
- Epidemiologists
- Biostatisticians
- Economists
- Social scientists
- Decision scientists
- Ethicists
- Lawyers
- Computer scientists/programmers
- Librarians/information specialists
Of course, certain individuals have multiple types of expertise. The set of participants in an HTA depends on the scope and depth of the topic, available resources, and other factors. For example, the standing members of a hospital technology assessment committee might include: the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, physician chief of staff, director of nursing, director of planning, materials manager, and director of biomedical engineering (Sadock 1997; Taylor 1994). Certain clinical specialists, and marketing, legal, and analytical staff and patient or community representatives could be involved as appropriate.